The Australian Materials Handling and Logistics industry was finally able to shake off the COVID blues to host the first trade fair in over 2 years at CeMat 2022 in Melbourne. Although not as large or prominent as previous editions of the well-established show, the crowds turned up in their droves and it was great to see many familiar faces from the industry mingling and discussing the current state of our booming industry.
I distinctly remember 2 separate feelings coming over me during my time at the Melbourne Convention Centre, the first was a feeling of expectant excitement muddled by a slight disappointment at the modest size of the hall in which it was being held as I walked in for the first time. I remember trying to justify the feeling to myself saying surely, I wasn’t expecting it to be as big as Modex and maybe Australian’s just are not as keen to get out to trade shows anymore!
But by the time I got to midday on the first day, this feeling was quickly overtaken by a warm and fuzzy feeling in my gut. This wasn’t just a flashy and glitzy show, this one had real depth about it. Everywhere I looked, you could see genuine conversations taking place about real business opportunities. And don’t get me wrong, the vendors who showed up really brought their A-game with some really high-quality displays and more importantly, lots of exciting automation and technology on display to keep even the most ardent automation geek excited (yes, I’m talking about myself).
Let’s start with the Koerber Supply Chain Stand. They really went all out with no less than 4 or 5 different automation technologies on display. Not only did they have a jumbo-tron style screen above their stand, on the stand itself they had informed professionals showing the attendees and delegates through the wide variety of solutions they had in their arsenal. After doing a quick demo picking onto Locus Bots, I spent some time talking to the Geek+ representatives about their Robo-Shuttle and moving bot combination which really allows a 3-dimensional approach to designing the next generation of automated warehouses. This is something I’ve long been critical of AMRs for and Geek+ has risen to this challenge.
Another notable mention was the ever-present team at Dematic. As always, they had a really nice and flashy stand showcasing their traditional shuttle and auto-store technology, but this time they even brought one of their bespoke AMR/AGV solutions to get people talking. As always, the stand was manned by their knowledgeable team but I must admit that this year there was a certain warmth that came from them and this was clearly evident with the number of people who were regularly found chatting away within their stall.
HAI Pick chose CeMat 2022 as their official entrance into the Australian market and their stall left little to the imagination. It was great to finally see the HAI Port in action cycling through plastic totes at a speed of 600 Totes per hour for the length of the trade show. It clear to see that HAI is looking to make it’s presence felt in the Australian market and as far a stalls go, they had there robots working tirelessly to bring in new business.
There were a couple of other notable entrants into the Australian Market who put on a good showing. It was very interesting to finally see Witron on our shores. As previously mentioned on these articles, Witron was contracted into the Australian market by Coles to deliver multiple Automated Distribution Centres across the Eastern Seaboard. Although they have a non-compete in place for any other grocery clients in the region, they are keen to deploy their proven solution suite into other markets in the region.
Ferag continues to expand their offering and had an impressive stand set up alongside Wayzim, a Chinese based manufacturer and integrator of automated warehousing technologies. It’s great to see a lot of additional suppliers coming into the market to broaden the competitive offering available locally.
Other notable mentions were:
- Knapp who had a really good looking professional stand. With all of the largescale projects they have been involved with in Australia over the last 5 years, they are definitely here to stay and have a very professional local team who are always ready to help.
- Vanderlande also brought their A-game stand and their team was readily available to discuss new and existing opportunities in the market.
- Daifuku was exhibiting in full force as they continue to grow their presence in the local market with innovative solutions across the complete automated warehouse suite from Pallet ASRS to sortation and everything in between.
- Priority Integrated Systems was also displaying for the first time and they had a nice stand on display with their robots and colourful shelving units with a lot of buzz around some of the exciting projects they’re working on across the country.
- Tompkins robotics was displaying their well-known Libao robots and it was quite interesting to see them have their own stand after seeing them internationally but never locally in the past.
- A notable mention goes to EPG solutions who were show-casing their innovative voice picking vest and full-suite warehouse management system.
All in all, the CeMat 2022 trade show was a resounding success. For anyone who attended the myriad of workshops and visited the stands it was surely a memorable experience and it truly felt like our industry had matured to the world stage with all of the global solutions providers (including so many AMR and AGV solutions) which were on display. Our industry is stronger than it ever has been and it showed.